Madam, - Gay Byrne should consider his position as chairman of the Road Safety Authority.
Donning his hat RSA chairman's hat, he tells us all to reduce our speed on the roads as excessive speed kills.
Unfortunately, Mr Byrne appears to be suffering from a Jekyll and Hyde complex because when he dons the hat of commercialism he tells us, on a frequently heard radio advertisement, that Newbridge is only 30 minutes from Dublin.
The distance from St Stephen's Green to Newbridge is approximately 50 kilometres (30 miles). That suggests a speed of 100kph (60mph) from start to finish.
This is simply impossible by road, unless one engages in speeds well in excess of those permitted. In my own case I live in Dundrum, relatively close to the M50. On a good day I can reach the Red Cow roundabout in 20 minutes; that leaves me with 10 minutes to get to Newbridge.
Perhaps Mr Byrne had the train in mind when he did the commercial? Checking the timetables, I discovered that the time taken by train from Heuston station varies from 37 to 44 minutes. There is a less frequent non-stop Intercity service that can do the trip in a claimed 33 minutes.
Regular commuters would no doubt provide more accurate information on the duration of the journey.
Appreciating that we do live in recessionary times, and the odd commercial does bring in an extra few euro, I would suggest that Mr Byrne, in future similar instances, should consult the other board members of the Road Safety Authority to ensure that he is not at odds with its duty of promoting responsible road behaviour.
It is also important to ensure that advertising is truthful and not open to dangerous misinterpretation. - Yours, etc,